As the holidays are behind us, and we look to the new year and start of the 2026 vintage growing season we are already experiencing above average rainfall, and above average warm temperatures. This type of weather pattern presents its own set of positives and negatives. Foremost on all growers minds this time of year is the constant and persistent worry of what an untimely frost can do the vines this time of year. It was only four years ago when a deadly frost hit in March of 2022 and decimated our crop yields by nearly fifty percent. However, since then we have seen weather patterns shift to warmer wetter winters and less days of freezing temperatures. This year is starting out in one of those patterns with us seeing more than one day in January getting to over seventy degrees Fahrenheit, and our rainfall up to date is well above average so far. While this type of weather pattern is preferable to a colder frost-bitten one, it does present its own set of issues as well. The main issue being that if the vines experience a certain number of warm-temperature days, they will start to bud out much earlier in the year making the vines even more susceptible to a late season frost if one were to occur. The other issue with an early bud break is that the growing season will shift to an earlier timeframe and conclude with an early harvest where instead of grapes becoming ripe in the cooler September and October temperatures they will come to ripeness in the hotter month of August. This can affect the overall quality and chemistry of the fruit. As always there’s never perfect weather, and part of our winemaking philosophy is that we allow each vintage to be a reflection of the vineyard and the growing season. With that said we believe that 2026 is overall off to a great start, and as always, we’re excited about what’s more to come!